How to play Ludo (Cá Ngựa): rules, kicks and getting home

The board, a turn, kicks, the home column, house rules and tips, for 2 to 4 players.

Updated 15 October 2026

Ludo is a race game for 2 to 4 players: each player has four horses of one colour, rolls a die, and runs the horses once around the board and up into their home column. In Vietnam it is called cờ cá ngựa, and it is played with a few house rules of its own.

In GatherPlay's Ludo the board shows on the shared screen and on every phone. You tap Roll on your phone, the server rolls the die, and you pick a horse. The game checks every move, so nobody argues about the rules. Each colour also has its own icon, so players who find colours hard to tell apart can play too.

The goal

Be the first to get your four horses into your home column, on steps 3, 4, 5 and 6.

The board

• Four colours: red, green, yellow and blue. Each has a stable in a corner with four horses numbered 1 to 4.
• A loop of 52 cells runs around the cross in the middle. Horses run clockwise.
• Each colour has a start cell, marked with its icon, where its horses come out.
• Each colour has a home column of six steps, numbered 1 to 6, that only its own horses may enter. The cell just before it is marked with arrows.

A turn, step by step

1. Tap Roll. The die shows a number from 1 to 6.
2. A 1 or a 6 brings a horse out of the stable onto your start cell.
3. Otherwise, move one horse forward by the number on the die.
4. If several horses can move, pick one. If only one can, it moves by itself. If none can, the turn passes.
5. A 6 gives you another roll.

Blocking and kicking

A horse can't pass another horse, of any colour, and can't land on one of your own. Land exactly on another colour's horse and you kick it back to its stable: it has to come out again with a 1 or a 6. Horses in a stable or in a home column are safe.

Getting home

A horse goes once around the board and stops at the cell just before your home column; it can't go past it. From there, the roll puts it on that step: a 3 puts it on step 3. Then it climbs one step at a time, and only with the exact next number: a 4 to go from step 3 to step 4. Fill steps 3, 4, 5 and 6 to win.

House rules

• Only a 6 brings a horse out, as in international Ludo. The default is a 1 or a 6.
• Passing allowed: horses may pass over others. Landing exactly on a horse still kicks it.
• A turn timer, off by default: when time runs out, the game rolls or moves for the player.

Tips

• Bring horses out early. With more horses on the board, almost every roll has a use.
• Before you move, count the cells behind you. A horse 1 to 6 cells in front of an opponent can be kicked.
• Kick the horses that have gone the furthest. Kicking one that just came out costs its owner little.
• A horse standing in a narrow spot blocks everyone behind it. Use it.
• Leave a horse at the cell before your home column until you roll the step you need.

Playing apart

Start a Discord or Google Meet call and share the shared screen's browser tab. Everyone plays from their own phone with the code. The whole board is on every phone too, so a laggy stream never stops the game.

Start a game

1. Open GatherPlay on the TV and host a Ludo game.
2. Up to four players join with the QR code on the screen.
3. Pick your house rules and start.